Philosophical Alliances in Cognitive Science. The Case of Pragmatism and Enactivism

Mark-Oliver Casper, Ludger Van Dijk, Glenda Satne (University of Wollongong), Giuseppe Flavio Artese, Pierre Steiner, Roberta Dreon (University of Venice)

Workshop Announcement | Incl. Schedule

Philosophical Alliances in Cognitive Science.

The Case of Pragmatism and Enactivism

10th &11th December 2020

UNIVERSITY OF KASSEL | INSTITUTE OF PHILOSOPHY

Many authors have argued that pragmatism and situated cognition research share major philosophical assumptions (Gallagher 2017; Menary 2016; Chemero 2009). Enactivist theories in particular are assumed to have taken up perspectives and concepts established by pragmatist philosophers like William James or John Dewey. A more or less neglected, although obvious, question in this context concerns the exact connections between enactivism and neo-pragmatist theories. Do both approaches share concepts and explananda? Do they develop a genuine explanation type for cognitive phenomena (that is different from more prominent ones like mechanistic explanations)? Which cognitive phenomena can they address? This workshop brings together experts who focus either on the pragmatist roots of enactivism or on the neo-pragmatist development of it. The aim is to identify and connect existing (neo-) pragmatist-enactivist approaches to sketch a more comprehensive picture of their possible contribution to cognition research. Further questions that will be addressed are:

·       What are the pragmatist roots of enactivism?

·       Can pragmatist approaches contribute to cognitive science?

·      Do neo-pragmatist theories connect well with its pragmatist predecessors?

·      Can neo-pragmatist theories of beliefs help to solve enactivism´s “scaling-up problem”?

·      Can concepts typical of 4E research (such as the one of affordance or the one of sensori-motor contingency) be revisited based on the ideas found in the pragmatist tradition?

·       If performed practices are seen as constitutive for cognitive skills, how can we identify and analyze those practices in order to explain cognitive phenomena?

·       Are there specific ontological or epistemological consequences for Enactivism if (neo-) pragmatist premises are accepted?

Schedule of the workshop:

10th December (Time Zone: Europe/Berlin)

09:00am-09:10am

Welcome and Introduction by the Organizers

09:10am-09:55am (ca. 30mins talk + ca. 15mins discussion)

Roberta Dreon (University Ca´ Foscari Venezia)

“More than Action and Perception. A Pragmatist View on Sensibility”

09:55am-10:40am

Giuseppe Flavio Artese (University of Kassel)

“Towards an Ontology of the Lived Environment: The Pluralistic Option”

-10mins Break-

10:50am-11:35am

Ludger Van Dijk (University of Antwerp)

“Affordances in an Indeterminate World”

11th December (Time Zone: Europe/Berlin)

09:00am-09:05am

Second Welcome and Interim Summary by the Organizers

09:10am-09:55am (each talk is followed by ca. 15mins of discussion)

Glenda Satne (University of Wollongong)

“Pragmatism and Enactivism on Content”

09:55am-10:40am

Pierre Steiner (Compiegne Technology University)

“Neo-Pragmatism, Enactivism, and Pragmatism: Is It ´Intentionality´ all the way down?”

-10mins Break-

10:50am-11:35am

Mark-Oliver Casper (University of Kassel)

“A Social Enactivist Approach to the Scaling-Up Problem”

This workshop will be an online event that takes place via Zoom. Please register via philos.sc [ at ] gmail. com if you wish to participate till the 8th December.

Organization:

Mark-Oliver Casper (mo.casper[ at ]uni-kassel.de) & 

Giuseppe Flavio Artese (giuseppe.flavio.artese[ at ]uni-kassel.de)

Institute of Philosophy, University Kassel